Dennis Hoey

Dennis Hoey (born Samuel David Hyams, 30 March 1893 – 25 July 1960) was a British film and stage actor, best remembered for playing Inspector Lestrade in six films of Universal's Sherlock Holmes series.
Early life
Hoey was born Samuel David Hyams in London to Ellis and Leah (Green) Hyams, both of Russian Jewish descent. who ran a bed and breakfast in Brighton, East Sussex.
Hoey received his formal education at Brighton College, and originally planned to be a teacher. He served in the British Army during World War I. After a career as a singer, which included entertaining British troops during his war service, he moved into theatre-acting in 1918, and later into cinema films. In 1931, Hoey moved to the United States and commenced a career in Hollywood.
Film
Hoey's first film was Tell England. He is best known for playing Inspector Lestrade in six Universal's Sherlock Holmes series. He also portrayed the master of Harrow in The Foxes of Harrow and appeared in Tarzan and the Leopard Woman.
Stage
Hoey "appeared frequently in London" stage productions, including those of Sydney Carroll's Shakespearean repertory company. He played Mr. Rochester opposite Katharine Hepburn in the American production of Helen Jerome's stage adaptation of Jane Eyre. He also wrote a play called The Haven and toured in it in 1946 with Melville Cooper, Valerie Cossart and Viola Roache.
Hoey's Broadway credits include Hassan (1924), Katja (1926–1927), Green Waters (1936), Virginia (1937), Empress of Destiny (1938), The Circle (1938), Lorelei (1938), The Burning Deck (1940), Heart of a City (1942), The Haven (1946), and Getting Married (1951).
Radio
On radio, Hoey played Mr. Welby in Pretty Kitty Kelly on CBS.
Personal life
Issue No. 45 of Films of the Golden Age (magazine) features an interview with Hoey's son, Michael (1934–2014), who extensively discusses his father's life and career. In Michael's book, Elvis, Sherlock and Me: How I Survived Growing Up in Hollywood (Bear Manor Media-2007), he discusses his father's career and their sometimes turbulent relationship.
Death
Hoey died at the age of 67 in Palm Beach, Florida, of kidney disease on 25 July 1960. His body was buried at Myrtle Hill Memorial Park cemetery, in Tampa, Florida.
Filmography
Tip Toes (1927) as Hotelier (film debut)
The Man from Chicago (1930) as Jimmy Donovan
Tell England (1931) as The Padre
Never Trouble Trouble (1931) as Stranger
Love Lies (1932) as Cyrus Watt
Life Goes On (1932) as Anthony Carlisle
The Maid of the Mountains (1932) as Orsino
Baroud (1933) as Captain Sabry
The Good Companions (1933) as Joe Brundit
The Wandering Jew (1933) as Lord de Beaudricourt
Maid Happy (1933) as Sir Rudolph Bartlett
Facing the Music (1933) as Capradossi
My Old Duchess (1934) as Montagu Neilson
Lily of Killarney (1934) as Miles-Na-Copaleen
Chu Chin Chow (1934) as Rakham, chief henchman
I Spy (1934) as MNT
Jew Süss (1934) as Dieterle
Brewster's Millions (1935) as Mario
Immortal Gentleman (1935) as Soldier/Toby Belch
Honeymoon for Three (1935) as Mons Daumery
The Tunnel (1935) as Worker (uncredited)
The Mystery of the Mary Celeste (1935) as Tom Goodschard
Maria Marten, or The Murder in the Red Barn (1935) as Gambling Winner
Black Roses (1935) as Nikander
Uncivilised (1937) as Mara the White Chief
A Yank in the R.A.F. (1941) as Intelligence Officer
Confirm or Deny (1941) as Duffield, Ministry of Information
Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake (1942) as Lord Tarrant
This Above All (1942) as Parsons
Cairo (1942) as Colonel Woodhue
Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1942) as Inspector Lestrade
Forever and a Day (1943) as Mover
Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943) as Inspector Owen
They Came to Blow Up America (1943) as Col. Taeger
Bomber's Moon (1943) as Colonel von Grunow
Sherlock Holmes Faces Death (1943) as Inspector Lestrade
The Spider Woman (1944) as Inspector Lestrade
Uncertain Glory (1944) as Father Le Clerc
The Pearl of Death (1944) as Inspector Lestrade
National Velvet (1944) as Mr. Greenford
The Keys of the Kingdom (1944) as Alec Chisholm (uncredited)
Sherlock Holmes and the House of Fear (1945) as Inspector Lestrade
A Thousand and One Nights (1945) as Sultan Kamar Al-Kir/Prince Hadji
Kitty (1945) as Mr. Jonathan Selby
Tarzan and the Leopard Woman (1946) as Commissioner
Terror by Night (1946) as Inspector Lestrade
She-Wolf of London (1946) as Inspector Pierce
Anna and the King of Siam (1946) as Sir Edward
Roll on Texas Moon (1946) as Cole Gregory
The Strange Woman (1946) as Tim Hager
The Crimson Key (1947) as Steven Loring
Second Chance (1947) as Roger Elwood
Golden Earrings (1947) as Hoff
The Foxes of Harrow (1947) as Master of Harrow
Christmas Eve (1947) as Williams-Butler
Where There's Life (1947) as Minister of War Grubitch
If Winter Comes (1947) as Tiny Wilson
Ruthless (1948) as Mr. Burnside
Joan of Arc (1948) as Sir William Glasdale
Wake of the Red Witch (1948) as Captain Munsey
Bad Men of Tombstone (1949) as Mr. Smith
The Secret Garden (1949) as Mr. Pitcher
The Kid from Texas (1950) as Major Harper
The Adventures of Ellery Queen (1950, TV) as Ronny Sinclair
David and Bathsheba (1951) as Joab
Caribbean Gold (1952) as Burford
Plymouth Adventure (1952) as Head Constable (final film, uncredited)
Omnibus (1956, TV) as Arthur Conan Doyle
Stage
Hassan (1924), Masrur
Katja (1926), Ivo
Green Waters (1936), Ian McRuvie
Jane Eyre (1936), Mr. Rochester
Virginia (1937), Sir Guy Carleton
Empress of Destiny (1938), Potemkin
The Circle (1938), Lord Porteous
Lorelei (1938), Reprecht Eisenkranz
The Burning Deck (1940), Captain Applegate
Heart of a City (1942), Leo Saddle
The Haven (1946), Edmund Durward
Getting Married (1951), The General
References
External links
1893 births
1960 deaths
British male film actors
British male stage actors
British expatriate male actors in the United States
English people of Russian-Jewish descent
British Army personnel of World War I
Male actors from London
20th-century British male actors